Microsoft was an early adopter of SIP; for example, with Microsoft Office 2003 applications, it's possible to pass along presence information with document attachments. This functionality does require at the back end Microsoft's LCS (Live Communications Server), which includes SIP and presence capabilities.
And Microsoft says its new desktop initiative, Istanbul, due for release later this year, will include even richer presence, video and phone capabilities, offering integration with SIP phones and IP PBXs, as well as Microsoft Desktop applications (see "Siemens Also to Support Istanbul Directly,"). For now, Microsoft is partnering with Alcatel, Mitel and Siemens to integrate their VoIP phone systems more closely with Windows, and it's working with Polycom to integrate phones and videoconferencing solutions.
It remains to be seen how much interoperability there will be between Microsoft and the rest of the world--in the past, the company has removed SIP functionality from some desktop applications without warning, notably Windows Messenger. Still, there are many advantages to integrating desktop apps with communications services, and this is an area we'll be keeping an eye on.
One Voice On Feb. 7, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Purdue University's Cerias Lab, Symantec, Qualys, Alcatel, 3Com, Enterasys, Spirent Communications, Qwest and Comcast joined with TippingPoint to form the Voice Over Internet Protocol Security Alliance. The group says it will work with such organizations as the IETF and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Forum to publicize possible vulnerabilities in VoIP networks and ways to counter emerging threats.
Peter Morrissey is a full-time faculty member of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, and a contributing editor and columnist for Network Computing. Write to him at [email protected].
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